Governor Bullock’s Main Street Montana Project Launches Surveys

HELENA—Governor Steve Bullock’s Main Street Montana Project today sent in-depth county surveys to Montanans across the state as part of the effort to build a business plan for Montana. The Main Street Montana Project wrapped up seven Roundtable events in July and used the input provided by Montanans from all over the state to build the survey tool. The County Survey aims to drill down to the specific economic opportunities and challenges facing Montana businesses, workers, educators, and families in every county of the state.

All Montanans are encouraged to participate in the Main Street Montana Project and respond to the survey, which can be found on the Project’s website.

“We want every Montanan to have a voice in this process, because we know that the best ideas for Main Street come from Main Streets all over Montana,” Bullock said. “Working together we’ll build a business plan that helps businesses grow, encourages innovation and raises wages across the state.”

The data collected from the survey, along with data collected from other stages of the Project, will be used to develop a business plan for Montana that builds on Montana’s economic strengths and addresses challenges the state has faced for years. The plan is scheduled to be delivered to Governor Bullock in the first quarter of 2014. It will contain concrete steps that his administration can take to support business, job and wage growth in Montana.

Governor Steve Bullock launched the Project in May, asking business leaders Larry Simkins, CEO of the Washington Companies and Bill Johnstone, President of D.A. Davidson & Co., to lead the effort, using their private-sector expertise in business development and growth.

The mission of the Main Street Montana Project is to develop a bottom-up, self-sustaining blueprint to support the creation, recruitment, and retention of Montana jobs.